5 alternatives for your resume with no work experience

Getting a job without having formal work experience is no walk in the park. Your resume has to convince potential employers that you are just as talented as the competition, even though you haven’t had a job in the industry before. A number of our clients have scored excellent jobs despite a lack of work experience on their resumes. It is all about how you bring out the best of yourself on paper using the experience that you do have.

Here are 5 alternatives for you to use in your resume to demonstrate work experience even when you haven’t had a formal job before:

1. Volunteer experience

Just because you haven’t got paid for your skills, it doesn't mean that you aren’t talented. Have you taken on volunteer roles through high school and college? Are you a member of a volunteer neighborhood community? Then, these experiences can add much value to your resume. Even though you didn’t realize it before, your volunteer jobs gave you a great chance to hone your transferable skills. So, go on and highlight on your resume how you raised 5k for the local animal shelter organizing a charity run!

2. Internships

Internships are just like real jobs. Except, you don’t get paid much and you are making coffee for the management half the time! However, internships are great opportunities for you to try out the things you learned about in college. Internships add a lot of value to your resume, especially if you work in a field like healthcare. Employers are more likely to choose candidates who have an internship experience over those without it.

3. Clubs and sports activities

Are you applying for a job that places high value on soft skills? We have spoken before about how there are four types of skills to add to your resume. Soft skills are an important set of skills your resume must display to qualify for certain roles. One of the best ways to highlight soft skills such as teamwork and collaboration, empathy, and perseverance on your resume is to highlight the experience you have had at college clubs or sports. You can even create a separate Hobbies & Interests section for your resume to include these.

4. Projects and coursework

These are two ideal ways of showing off your expertise if you are creating a recent college grad resume. Including your projects in a resume is a way of showing potential employers that you are passionate about your field of interest. You also get to highlight your research skills and innovative spirit through your projects. If you have taken any classes related to your job role, highlight those on your resume as well. You can use the education section of your resume to list the related coursework. However, keep in mind to add only 4-5 related modules to avoid overwhelming the reader.

5. Part-time jobs

Have you done any part-time jobs or freelance work in your field? Then, these are some great additions to your resume for you to demonstrate work experience. One thing to keep in mind when adding part-time jobs to your resume is to not include jobs that are totally unrelated. Your work as a cashier in the local record store is ideal when you are applying for a customer service position. However, it would be quite unwise to add such an experience to a resume that you are writing for an IT job.